Middle Child Syndrome - Chapter 50

Chapter 50: Ch 50: Don’t get attached
“Hey, it is time to close now. Are you sure you will be fine heading out alone? Do you want me to accompany you back to your accommodation?”

The older beta asked as he closed the shop behind him.

It felt like a nice gesture, but Rika did not trust Daniel to watch her back just yet. She needed to work with him a little more before trusting him.

Her silence was enough of an answer, and Daniel looked disappointed and hurt at her lack of response.

“Don’t give me that look! I am not interested in you or trying to hit on you either. I just thought I should offer to do this because of what happened two days ago. You got kidnapped, right?”

Rika’s distrust became even more evident the second she heard those words.

‘So, you did know what happened, but you pretended to know as if you did not. My first instinct to not trust you was right. I should have expected this when Rocxx introduced you! What is next? Are you not even a beta? Not that I would know, even if that was the case. I cannot smell the pheromones anyway.’

Rika was having an internal monologue, trying to decide how she felt about this situation.

But she had taken more than enough time to think about all this, and Daniel felt frustrated, so he tried to reach out and grab her shoulder.

“Hey, listen to me! I did not mean anything weird by what I said. I only wanted to-”

Rika was aware of the presence standing behind her back.

Damian was finally here to pick her up and blocked Daniel’s hand from reaching Rika’s shoulder.

The dominant alpha also had more than enough strength in his hand to crush a beta like Daniel easily.

“Where did you come from? Who are you? Rika, come here. It is dangerous for you to be standing where you are.”

The male beta tried to urge Rika to stand aside and run away from the alpha. And it made sense why he would say that to Rika as well.

Damian was not only a dominant alpha but also looked that part. His bulky shoulders and tall height made him look dominant.

But the look in his eyes completed his personality and made people feel intimate with him.

“It’s alright, Damian. My co-worker was just worried about me, so he tried to reach out and grab me. There is no need to hurt him over this.”

Rika assured Damian as she tapped his wrist to make him let go.

It was irritating how Damian’s arm was currently higher than Rika’s face, and she felt caged as his other arm came around to warp around her middle.

Damian let out a low growl with narrowed eyes at Rika’s confession. But his eyes did not look away from the older beta’s face.

The alpha slowly let go of Daniel’s wrist, and Daniel immediately pulled it back to his side.

“Daniel, this is Damian. Don’t look so worried. He is a childhood friend of mine who offered to escort me back home tonight. Despite his intimidating looks, he is gentle…I mean, he would not hurt me. So, there is no need for you to feel worried.”

Rika assured the older beta as cautiously as she could.

She could tell that Damian was getting impatient and wanted to drag Rika behind him and leave her home.

‘Ah, he must be in a terrible mood because he did not meet Emily today. But if that was the case, he should have gone to meet Emily instead. I would have been alright.’

Rika was grateful to have Damian pick her up, but it felt unnecessary.

“He’s a friend? That is not the face of a friend. Fuck! If you had a boyfriend, then you should have said that already. But a beta with an alpha is a little-!”

Daniel tried to encourage Rika, but he fell silent while speaking.

What he wanted to say was clear, but Rika cut him off.

“We are not dating. Damian is a friend and is currently dating my other friend. You can get information about this by looking around. Or rather, don’t do that. You will likely die. Now, I should get going. I will see you tomorrow.”

Rika quickly dragged her body (hinted that she wanted to go).

Even as she walked away with Damian, she could tell the older alpha was unhappy with what happened.

“Please don’t make this situation any more awkward for me than it had to be. I need to go back there and work with Daniel tomorrow. I would appreciate it if we could at least make small conversations without feeling awkward.”

Rika tried to talk Damian down from interfering in her life.

But the look she got from him was one filled with disappointment.

“Quit your job. I can find you a better one.”

Damian offered, and Rika instantly sighed in regret.

“Of course, you can find me a better job. But that is not what I want to do. I like this job and this palace, and I do not want to change jobs so quickly.”

Rika had come to appreciate this job.

Maybe it was because the first thing Rika got was her power and capabilities (even if Rocxx was involved), but this job was precious to her.

When Damian looked at Rika, his expression was weird. It was filled with sympathy and regret…. or something along those lines.

Even Rika was not sure what Damian was feeling at the moment.

“Don’t get too attached to this job and place. I cannot tell you much, but I can tell you that you will not be here for long.”

That was all the warning Rika needed to know that this flower shop was abnormal.

Of course! Why did she expect anything else? She did find a job in the mafia territory, so how could this place be regular?

“So, how long do I have before I start looking for another job? No wait! Don’t tell me. Knowing will only stress me out even more. I guess I better prepare myself mentally.”